Tributes to young Derbyshire dad Joshua Jones after police find body

Joshua Jones, 29, of Matlock, disappeared on December 12, 2020.

Despite emotional appeals from his wife and parents, Joshua’s whereabouts have remained a mystery for the past 10 months.

Yesterday, Derbyshire police confirmed the body of a man had been found by a passer-by in Clough Woods, near Birchover, and they believe it to be Joshua.

Earlier this year, Joshua’s wife Talia spoke of the couple’s ‘love story’ – how they met by a pool table in a Matlock pub, how Joshua proposed at the same table where they’d spent their first date bonding over books and how they folded 1,000 origami paper cranes for their wedding day in 2017.

The couple’s pledge to each other, ‘to the moon and the back’, is tattooed on Josh’s left wrist.

On December 12, Talia watched Josh put his coat on, kiss their son Luke goodbye, and ‘that was it’.

Leaving their home in Hurst Rise, he had set out to pick up some things from the local pharmacy, but never made it.

Derbyshire Police, says Talia, ‘couldn’t have done more’.

"They had everyone out,” she said. “The taskforce, drones, a helicopter, mountain rescue teams. They went above and beyond.”

Joshua’s dad Andrew described how every day since their son went missing had been ‘horrendous’.

“From the second we wake up to when we try and sleep, we’re constantly thinking about Joshua,” Andrew told us in February.

Since the awful news was revealed by police last night, tributes have poured in for Joshua on our Facebook page.

Many have also left their deepest condolences to his family.

Tracey Jayne Bedford posted: “How very sad, I hope Josh has found peace, and his loved ones can get some much needed closure and support.

"My thoughts are with you all at this awful time.”

Lisa Mcfaden said: “So very sad, I hope the family now have closure and peace of some sort.

"I can't imagine what they're going through. My sincerest condolences.”

A Derbyshire police spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Joshua’s family and they have requested privacy at this time.

“There are thought to be no suspicious circumstances and we are preparing a file for the coroner.”